News Release Information

Contacts

Technical information:

Media contact:

PDF

Fatal Work Injuries In Florida-2012

Fatal work injuries totaled 209 in 2012 for Florida, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that while the 2012 count was preliminary, this year’s fatality count was the lowest annual total for the state since the Bureau began tracking workplace fatalities in 1992. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 422 in 2004 to this year’s low of 209. Over the last eight years, the number of fatalities has generally trended downward, declining by 213 since 2004. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a preliminary total of 4,383 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2012, down from a final count of 4,693 fatalities recorded in 2011, according to results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program. Final 2012 CFOI data will be released in Spring 2014.

Of the 209 fatal work injuries reported in Florida in 2012, 65 resulted from transportation incidents, 44 from violence and other injuries by persons or animals, and 42 from falls, slips, and trips; together these three major categories accounted for 72 percent of all fatal work injuries. Other major event categories each reported less than 30 deaths. (See table 1.) Within transportation incidents, roadway incidents were the most frequent type of workplace fatality with 35 deaths; in fact, it accounted for 17 percent of all on-the-job fatalities in the state. The second largest event in transportation incidents, pedestrian vehicular incidents, accounted for 13 fatalities. In the violence and other injuries by persons or animals category, 23 deaths occurred from intentional shooting by other person. (Note that transportation counts presented in this release are expected to rise when updated 2012 data are released in Spring 2014 because key source documentation detailing specific transportation-related incidents has not yet been received.)

In the United States, transportation incidents were also the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2012, accounting for 41 percent of fatal work injuries. Florida’s 31-percent share of on-the-job fatalities due to this event was 10 percentage points lower than the nationwide share. (See chart 2.) Violence and other injuries was the second most frequent type of event nationally (17 percent) and in Florida (21 percent). Contact with objects or equipment (16 percent) and falls, slips, and trips (15 percent) were the third and fourth most frequent events, respectively, in the nation.

Additional key characteristics:

The construction industry sector had the largest number of fatalities in the state with 55, up from 41 the previous year. (See table 2.) Falls, slips, and trips accounted for 21 of the worker deaths, while transportation incidents and contacts with objects and equipment accounted for 14 fatalities each.

The trade, transportation, and utilities industry had the second highest fatality count with 52, down 13 from the previous year. Transportation incidents accounted for 24 worker deaths in this sector.

Construction and extraction occupations had the highest number of fatal work injuries (48) followed by transportation and material moving occupations (46). (See table 3.) The majority of these fatalities were construction trade workers (36) within the construction group and heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (23) within the transportation and material moving occupational group.

Men accounted for 190, or 91 percent, of the work-related fatalities in the state. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up one third of these fatalities.

In Florida, 56 percent of those who died from a workplace injury were white non-Hispanics. Nationwide, this group accounted for 68 percent of work-related deaths.

Workers 25-54 years old—the prime working age group—accounted for 125, or 60 percent, of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2012. Nationally, workers in this group accounted for 59 percent of on-the-job fatalities.

Of the 209 persons that suffered fatal work injuries in Florida, 81 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. Among wage and salary workers, 58 fatalities were due to transportation incidents, while violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the most common fatality among self-employed workers (15).

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 800-877-8339.

Technical Note

Background of the program. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, part of the BLS occupational safety and health statistics program, compiles a count of all fatal work injuries occurring in the United States during the calendar year. The program uses diverse state, federal, and independent data sources to identify, verify, and describe fatal work injuries. This assures counts are as complete and accurate as possible.

Federal/State agency coverage. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries includes data for all fatal work injuries, whether the decedent was working in a job covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or other federal or state agencies or was outside the scope of regulatory coverage. Thus, any comparison between the BLS fatality census counts and those released by other agencies should take into account the different coverage requirements and definitions being used by each agency.

Acknowledgments. The Bureau of Labor Statistics appreciates the efforts of all federal, state, local, and private sector entities that submitted source documents used to identify fatal work injuries, in particular the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

Fall or jump from and struck by same vehicle in normal operation, nonroadway

--

4

2

Fires and Explosions

4

6

3

Fires

2

3

1

Explosions

2

3

1

Falls, slips, trips

36

42

20

Falls on same level

4

6

3

Falls to lower level

28

36

17

Fall through surface or existing opening

--

7

3

Fall through surface or existing opening more than 30 feet

--

5

2

Other fall to lower level

24

29

14

Other fall to lower level less than 6 feet

5

3

1

Other fall to lower level 11 to 15 feet

4

4

2

Other fall to lower level 16 to 20 feet

--

4

2

Other fall to lower level 21 to 25 feet

--

4

2

Other fall to lower level more than 30 feet

8

5

2

Exposure to harmful substances or environments

27

23

11

Exposure to electricity

17

16

8

Direct exposure to electricity

4

9

4

Direct exposure to electricity, greater than 220 volts

3

7

3

Indirect exposure to electricity

13

7

3

Indirect exposure to electricity, greater than 220 volts

11

6

3

Exposure to other harmful substances

3

3

1

Inhalation of harmful substance

--

3

1

Inhalation of harmful substance--single episode

--

3

1

Exposure to oxygen deficiency, n.e.c.

3

3

1

Contact with objects and equipment

26

28

13

Struck by object or equipment

17

19

9

Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport

9

5

2

Struck by falling part of powered vehicle still attached

--

3

1

Struck by falling object or equipment--other than powered vehicle

6

8

4

Struck by object falling from vehicle or machinery--other than vehicle part

4

5

2

Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects

--

3

1

Caught in running equipment or machinery

--

3

1

Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material

7

5

2

Struck, caught, or crushed in other collapsing structure or equipment

5

5

2

Footnotes:(1) Based on the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) 2.01 implemented for 2011 data forward. Total may include other events not shown.

p Data are preliminary. Revised and final 2012 data are scheduled to be released in Spring 2014.NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State, New York City, District of Columbia, and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

Footnotes:(1) Industry data are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2007. Total may include other industries not shown.(2) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry.

p Data are preliminary. Revised and final 2012 data are scheduled to be released in Spring 2014.NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State, New York City, District of Columbia, and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

Footnotes:(1) Occupation data are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010. Total may include occupations not shown.(2) Includes fatal injuries to persons identified as resident armed forces regardless of individual occupation listed.

p Data are preliminary. Revised and final 2012 data are scheduled to be released in Spring 2014. NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State, New York City, District of Columbia, and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

Footnotes:(1) May include volunteers and workers receiving other types of compensation.(2) Includes self-employed workers, owners of unincorporated businesses and farms, paid and unpaid family workers, and may include some owners of incorporated businesses or members of partnerships.(3) Information may not be available for all age groups.(4) Persons identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. The race categories shown exclude Hispanic and Latino workers.

p Data are preliminary. Revised and final 2012 data are scheduled to be released in Spring 2014.NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State, New York City, District of Columbia, and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries